Slider for slide fasteners



H. ERDMANN SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS Sept. 25 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed May 10, 1948 FIG-.2

FIG.

FIG. 6

30 Inventor:

HANS ERDMA'N N,

Attorney p 25, 1951 H. ERDMANN. 2,569,298

SLIDER FOR sum: FASTENERS Filed May 10, l948 1 2 sheets-sheet 2 FIG. 5

I5 '8 I I ![H: IIL MAII V I I 2 5 ll o Inventor:

HANS ERDMANN At rorney Patented Sept. 25, 1951 I UNI-TED PATENT v I a V2,569,298

' sLInER FOR 'sLmnnAsrrEnEns Hans Erdm'arm, Maplewood, N. J., assi'gnort0 Waldes KnhinodaJnc, Long Island Gitm'hfl 3Y1, acorpuration 'ofT N-ewYork Appucanonimiy 1o, 194s, s riarNo.-26;na

which it is formed integral, into the space'betweentwo'of thefastener'elements of the chain contained in the sliderbody-pand isliftedto an inoperative or non-locking position upon "actuation'oi'th'e'pulltab in either fastener opening orcl'osin'g direction. Usually, thespring means takesthe form of a spring leafarranged-in'the eye or"opening between the outer "face of the front'sli'd'er' wing and theinner edge of th'e'bail by'whichthe pull tabis hingedly connected to theslider, the spring leaf being shaped to: provide inclined surfacesagainst which the hinge "of the pull tab engages when the latter ispulled in either opening or closing direction, thereby to lift thelocking pin out of' its normal engagement with the fastener elements 'asrequired for the free actuation of the: slider.

Difficulties have been encountered with-automatic slidersusin'g'a spring'as a lockingmeans ini'mak'in'g the springisufiiciently strongtowithstand therequi'red considerable opening (pulling) forcelworkingagainst the lock, without reducing thefiexibility of the spring; 'Thespring when subjected to a pulling, force is likely to'jbreak, benderbecome'dis'torted'a'nd a slider with such an impairedspringwo'uld' notbe usable again after the pulling force had been applied only once."Moreover, it is important that the free'end of the spring have afi'xed'locking position within the eye, therebymaintainin'gi constant thecritical distance that. the-locking pin projects into the 'Sliderbodyiit being obvious that if this distance is too smallthe locking pinis ineffective while, if' too great, the locking pinhas locking actionwhen such is'not desired. The desirable'fixed Ioek'ingpositionoftheispring permits the spring and its locking pin to be designed torelatively close tolerances, afeature not possible of attaini'nent'heretofore with loosely mounted and/ or located' springs. Furthermore,it is important to so shape thespring that" the forces destined" to liftit from its normal locking'position when the "pull tab is actuated workin a direction substaneemmsi (o1.24-205.14)

2 tially normal to theplane of the upper W-ir-iggbecause longitudinaldeformation of the"spring is best-avoided by causing it 'tolift in adirection substantially perpendicular to thisplane and its middlelength'portionto assume a positi'err substantially parallel-to -such plane. V

Accordingly, a principal object of the invention is the'provision of anautomatic lock slider for slidefasteners characterized as above whichwill withstand a suifici'en-t pulling forcemany; times without.breakdown, bending or distortion-"of any ofits component parts, andwithout causing any damage -to the elements of the -'fastener-' chain onwhich the slider is'mountedl I A further object of thein-ventionis-the'provision of an automatic lock slider as above-wherein thespring'is mounted in such manner that the length of the spring whichprotrudes-into the slider and engages the chain in "lockins'iactionmaybe held to closetolerances, for the-purpose of obtaining springswhichwill be uniform with respect to withstanding the pulling iorcefon the 1chain of 'fastenerelements and which slip or release the chain withoutdamaging it when a predetermined force has been reached, this beingachievedby' providing a stop forthe free ,end of the spring limiting-theamount of protrusion of its pin end through the slider' front wingto" adefinite amount.

A further abject-of the invention is'thepro- ViSiOIl'Of' anautoma-ticlock slider as above, which operates smoothly --and- --wi-th a minimum*o'f' scratching when the spring lock is lifted anddi sengaged by theaction ofthepulltab, this-being achieved by constructing and -mountingthe springso that" the pin-endof the spring during lifting moves in asubstantially straightl-ine' path which is perpendicular to the planeofthe. slider wings; and by locating the anchored endof'the spring flatagainst the outer face of the front wingpwith*the'result that theflexing point or hinge of the spring lies-practically in'the plane ofthe front wing, that is'to-say, at the lowest possible point relative to-the locking pin extending from the free end-of thespring. 'This'has the'effeetthat the element surface engaged inthe ing'forcesotherwiserequired to bend thelocking 'pin'backward'i-n order to get it out ofengagement.'

'Stilla furtherobjectof the invention is the provision of arr-automaticlock "slidertof the specified character, wherein the locking pin issuitably reinforced so as to enable it to withstand the bending forcesexerted on it by the chain to be locked. This is preferably achieved byforming the locking pin with a reinforcing rib contained within theoverall width of the spring which is preferably constant from itsanchored to its looking pin end, thereby t simplify and facilitate theassembl-y'of the spring and to obtain consistency in the operationthereof.

The above and other objects and features of advantage will be apparentfrom the following detailed description of the invention, taken with theaccompanying drawing, inwhich- Fig. 1 is a plan view of the improvedautomatic lock slider according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1,illustrating the spring in its normal locking position;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section similar to Fig. 2 but showing theslider locked to the slide fastener chain;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 butillustrating the locking pin inits raised (Jr-inoperative positon;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the automatic lock slider as shown in Fig. 1,but with the bail, pull tab and spring cut away at the plane of theouter face of the front slider wing; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view illustrating the constructional details ofthe spring and integral locking pin according tothe invention.

Referring to the drawings, the illustrated slider is of more or lessconventional construction and comprises a front wing I and a rear wing II, the side edges of which are bent to form flanges I2, I3 defining aY-shaped slider channel and functioning also to guide the fastenerelements in their movement through the channel as the slider is actuatedin either direction. The wings II] and I I are connected by a neck I4and by a rivet I5, the head of which is extended downwardly over theouter face of the front wing" 'IO', and the rear end of which is securedto the rear wing II by bending its prong-like shank terminals I6, 'I Itightly against the outer face thereof. The middle Or shank portion ofthe rivet I is formed as a wedge-like divider I8 functionin to effectdisengagement of the fastener elements moving through the slider channelupon downward movement of the slider relative thereto, as is well known.The head part of the rivet is specially formed to provide a generallyU-shaped bail l9 which secures a pull tab 29 to the slidenbyvirtue ofthe hinge pin 2| of the tab extending through t e bail eye 22. p I

As seen in Fig. 2 the bail eye is elongatedbeing defined by the planeouter face of the front wing II) and the inner edges 23a, 23b, 23a ofthe bail,of which the short-length edge 23a slants outwardly from saidouter face by a substantial angle, the longer edge 23b similarly slantsoutwardly but by a lesser angle so that it is inclined b only a slightangle out of parallelism with-said outer face, and the edge 230 extendssubstantiallynormal to said outer face. Disposedin said eye is a leafspring 25 which is so anchored at its upper end :as to properly secureand locate as well as to provide the lowest possible flexing point forits free or locking end. To effect these desirable objectives, the upperend of the spring is formed with right-angularly disposed portions, ofwhich a slot or opening 26 formed in the front slider wing, and theportion 21a engages flat against the outer face of the front slider wingI0. As best seen in Fig. 6, the slot 26 may be formed as a continuationof the front wing opening for the shank rivet I5, the terminal portion21 extending the full width and depth of the slot. In itsportion-adjacent theshank, the rivet head is formed with a short-lengthedge portion I5a which extends parallel to and is slightly spaced fromthe front wing outer surface so as to bear with pressure on the springend portion 21a. The described arrangement is therefore such that theright-angular terminal 2! and the immediately adjacent end portion 21aof the spring are firmly and securely held with substantial pressureagainst the bottom and side edges of the wing slot 26 and against theouter face of the front wing adjacent said opening by the rivet itself,no extraneous spring fastening or securing means being required.

By reference to Figs. 3 and 4, the spring. 25 extends downwardly fromits anchored upper end, having a short-length portion which is slantedoutwardly from the outer face of the front wing as at 21b by aninclination corresponding to that of the bail under-edge portion 23a, anelongated portion which is oppositely slanted to extend somewhatinwardly or away from the corresponding bail under-edge portion 23b andto incline to: wards the outer face of the front wing by a small angleas indicated at 21c, and terminating at its free end in a rearwardlybent end 28. Said end functions as a lockin pin and accordingly is .oflength to project through a pin-opening 29 provided in the slider frontwing Ill near the lower end of the bail eye 22 and to enter the spacebetween two adjacentfastener elements 33 (Fig. 4) Preferably, thelocking pin 28 is bent relative to the spring leaf proper so thatin thenormal p031 tion of the sprin the locking pin is disposed normal to theplane of the front wing, it being here noted that ends 21, 28 of thespring are disposed in substantially parallel relationship.

As seen in Figs. 6 and 7,'one side edge'of the locking pin 28 is bent atright angles thereto, so as to form a reinforcing rib or flange 30, thebend line between locking pin proper and rib being on the line of thepin side edge, so that the width'of the spring is maintained constantthroughout substantially its entire length, a feature which facilitatesspring assembly and provides consistent spring performance. If desired,the terminal edge of the locking pin 28 may be indented as shown to forma depending corner locking point as indicated at 3i.

According to a further feature of the invention, the front wing I0adjacent the upper edge of its pin-receiving opening 29 isprovided witha protruding cam portion or hump 32 which is preferably formed bycoining the upper edge of said opening to the shape illustrated. Thehump provides an inclined surface 32a terminating in a knife edgeagainst which the spring is adapted to abut at about the line ofjunction of its, in.- clined length portion 210 and the rearwardlyextending locking pin 28. By dimensioning the height of the hump 32 andhence thev distance that its terminating knife edge is disposedforwardly of the outer face of the front wing, it. acts normally tomaintain the spring under a certain tension when the end portion 21athereof, is pressed flat againstsaid front wing face. Thispre-tensioning of the spring must necessarily be the terminal portion 21extends rearwardly into 7; overcome before the locking pin 2!} can bemoved out of its locking position by any force acting on it. Hence, thelocking pin is securely locked with the chain, as in Fig. 4, againstaccidental forces tending to dislocate it, and at the same time thecritical distance that the locking pin extends into the slider body canbe held to close tolerances.

With pull tab secured to the slider by its hinge pin 2| extendingthrough the eye of the bail l9 intermediate the slider front wing andthe spring as illustrated, a pull exerted on pull tab 20 in a directionto move the slider downwardly results in the hinge pin riding up theinclined face 32a of hump 32, thus lifting the spring and raising thelocking pin 28 out.

of the path of the fastener elements 33, as seen in Fig. 5. Due to thespecial shaping of the spring body and the camming action of the hump32, the force exerted on the spring by the pull tab hinge acts mainly ina direction as to effect substantially vertical lifting movement of thelocking pin 22 out of the path of the fastener elements. Also, themiddle part 210 of the spring tends to assume a position nearly parallelto the inner edge portion 23b of the bail and the outer face of theslider front wing as well. When the pull tab is pulled upwardly, itshinge pin 21 engages against the inclined portion 21b of the spring,exerting sufficient force thereon as to similarly effect lifting of thelocking pin 28 in vertical direction out of the path of the fastenerelements 33. Under both conditions of pull tab actuation, excessivelifting of the spring by the hinge pin is prevented by the inner edgesof the bail. It will also be appreciated that upon release of the pulltab following actuation thereof in either direction, the spring returnsto its normal pre-tensioned locking position.

Without further analysis, it will be observed that the locking spring asdescribed is firmly and securely anchored at its one end and so that itsother end may operate in highly effective manner both in looking andunlocking the slider. Due to the provision of the hump 32 and itsfunction of imparting a pre-tension on the spring when its locking endis in its normal locking position, the length of the locking pin may bedetermined exactly, with assurance that it always extends into the spacebetween adjacent fastener elements the critical distance required forsure and certain operation of the slider. The described features providethe advantage not only of effective but also consistent locking actionfor the life of the slider.

As many changes can be made in carrying out the above constructionWithout departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended thatall matter contained in the above description or shown in theaccompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

I claim:

1. An automatic lock slider for slide fasteners comprisingfront and rearwings, a rivet connecting said wings and having a head shaped to providea bail cooperating with the outer plane face of the front wing to forman elongated eye defined by said outer plane face and the under edge ofthe bail, said under edge having a shortlength portion adjacent therivet which is slanted outwardly from said outer plane face by asubstantial angle, an intermediate longer portion which is slantedoutwardly from said outer plane face by a lesser angle and a lower endportion which extends substantially normal to said outer plane face, aleaf spring operatively disposed in said eye, said leaf spring having anupper end portion which is anchored flat against said outer plane faceby the bail whereby its flexing point is disposed substantially in theplane of said outer face and upper and lower inclined portions of whichthe upper portion disposed adjacent the anchored end has length and isslanted outwardly from said outer plane face by an inclinationcorresponding substantially to that of the short-length under edgeportion of the bail and the lower portion has greater length than and isoppositely slanted with respect to said upper portion so as to inclineaway from the elongated under-edge portion of the bail by a substantialangle and towards said outer plane face by a small angle, saidoppositely slanted portion terminating at its free end in a rearwardlyextending locking pin which is disposed substantially perpendicularly tosaid outer plane face and projects through an opening provided thereforin the front wing into locking engagement with fastener elementsdisposed in the slider, a pull tab having its hinge pin extendingtransversely through the bail eye and disposed rearwardly of the leafspring, and a hump protruding from the outer plane face of the frontwing immediately above said opening and terminating in a raised knifeedge on which the free end of the leaf spring normally bears with springpressure, said hump providing a cam surface for said hinge pin Which isslanted outwardly from said outer plane face by an angle such that thehinge pin in riding up said cam surface is adapted to flex the leafspring to a position in which its oppositely slanted portion is disposedsubstantially parallel to said outer plane face, thereby to effectsubstantially vertical lifting movement of the looking pin out of thepath of the fastener elements.

2. An automatic lock slider as set forth in claim 1, wherein thelocking-pin is provided with a reinforcing rib disposed at right anglesto its plane and the width of the leaf spring from its upper to itslocking-pin end is substantially uniform throughout.

HANS ERDMAN N.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,222,988 Poux Nov. 26, 19402,345,348 Marinsky Mar. 28, 1944 2,373,523 Winterhalter Apr. 10, 1945

